Skirt-measuring gage and marker.



D, SULLIVAN.

SKIRT MEASURING GAGE AND MARKER.

APPLlCATlON FILED NOV- 2.19l6.

Patented May 1, 1917.

3 [vi-12 14 i0 31 H V DANIEL SULLIVAN, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

SKIRT-MEASURING GAGE AND MARKER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 1, 1917.

Application filed November 2, 1916. Serial No. 129,056.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL SULLIVAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Skirt-Measuring Gages and Markers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention consists of a device for measuring and marking the length of womens or girls skirts. It may be used on other garments, also, such for instance, as mens overcoats, but is especially useful to assist either home or professional dressmakers in procuring the proper hang for womens skirts.

In former devices relating to this general purpose, no means has been provided to hold the part of the garment in place adjacent to the alining rod, and, moreover, the same have been chiefly adapted for use with pins to fasten the cloth in a loop over the said alining rod, while in the present invention an adjustable, but positive, means is provided for holding the cloth in exact relation to the alining rod, and an adjustable and rapid means for denoting what the dress-maker desires to mark is, also, provided and held in a position of convenient accessibility in conjunction with the said alining rod.

Other points of invention will be described in the specification and afterward pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification and in which like numbers of reference denote like parts wherever they occur,

Figure 1 is a top plan view;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 Fig. 4, and

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the marker.

The base 1 is preferably of a weight adequate to hold the device rather solidly upon the floor, but not so weighty as to make removal diificult. The gage-rod 2 is securely socketed in, and held in an upwardly-projecting manner by, the said base. The gage may extend through a greater or less number of inches, as may be desired, and affords a ready measure by which the dress-maker can determine the height at which to fix the alining-rod 3 by means of the set-screw 4 or other suitable means. If fashion decrees that the bottom of a skirt must be six inches from the floor, for instance, the dress-maker will set the alining-rod 3 at the height of six inches, and the same will be held there by the said set-screw 4 during the hereinafter-described use of this invention. In Fig. 4 the said rod is shown positioned at a height of between four and five inches. The alining-rod 3 is straight where the same is intended to hold the skirt material for marking, but at that point might be curved,

provided the curve were not so great as to be discrepant from the final contour of that part of the garment. In other words, such curve ought not to be otherwise than approximately an arc of the circle formed by the shape of the whole skirt. In practice a straight rod serves very well. For the sake of compactness, the alining-rod is at a right angle to the axis of its attachment to the block 5, which slides vertically upon the rod 2. To one side of the block 5 is attached one end of the alining-rod 3 and to the other side is pivoted in any suitable manner the lever 6, as, for instance, by the pin 7 holding the lever 6 in the jaw 8. If desired, a crook 9 may be formed in rod 3 to accommodate loosely part of the cloth not held in marking position.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the rod 3 is held in fixed position vertically and in relatively fixed position so far as rotation is concerned with respect to gage-rod 2, although the same is capable of frictioned rotation around the same in spite of set-screw 4, but is not capable of a sliding movement thereon by reason of being held by the said set-screw. Its above-mentioned slight rotatability tends to assist the operator in using it in conjunction with a garment,-but it would be useless as a gage if susceptible to upward or downward sliding movement.

Pivoted at 10 by means of lug 11 or other suitable construction to the lever 6 is the swinging cloth-holder 12, which is composed of the rod 13 and the bar 14, which (together with the marker-carrying rod 15) are held together at their ends by the plates 16 and 17. When the said cloth-holder 12 is pushed adjacent to the alining-rod 3 with the piece of cloth 18 between the same and rod 3, the cloth is pressed smoothly against the rod 3, which thereby forms an easy ruling surface upon which to draw a line with tailors chalk or other suitable material.

The chalk 19 is adjustably carried in the marker 20, which is pivoted on rod 15. passing therethrough. Set-screw 21 holds chalk 19 in position and allows of its movement forward when its marking edge has become worn, there being a plate 22 within the marker, which plate moves up and down by reason of its actuation by set-screw 21 by means of screw-threads (not shown in the drawings) in a hole (not shown) in the plate 22 or other suitable means. The said marker is freed from binding upon the cloth as moved along rod 15 to mark a straight line on the said cloth by reason of the said marker being pivoted, and the said marker 20 can occupy any position necessary (as, for instance, that shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 of the drawings) to accommodate thick material. Ordinarily its lip 23 impinges against bar 14; so as to retain the same in a position substantially like that shown in full lines in Fig. 2.

In operation the cloth-holder 12 occupies approximately the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. The alining-rod 3 is then inserted underneath the material of the skirt with its lowermost edge parallel to the said alining-rod. With the hand the cloth-holder 12 is pushed toward the alining-rod 3 so as to clasp the skirt material 18 between it and the said rod. The marker 20 is then taken in the fingers and moved either to the left or to the right according to the convenience of the operator. Another section of the skirt is then moved into place between the alining-rod 3 and the cloth-holder 12 and a line in continuation of the first one made is drawn, and so on around the skirt. Whil this line is being drawn at an equal height from the floor entirely around the skirt, the person to whom the garment is being fitted is standing in a natural position on the floor or a pedestal, and when the line has encircled the skirt the person turns around so that the operator can see that the line corresponds to the height indicated by the gage throughout all parts of the skirt. The chalk line indicates to the dress-maker where the fold in the material should come for the bottom line of the garment, the material below the said line being turned up on the inside of the skirt to make its hem.

Whenever it is desired to move the clothholder 12 out of engagement with the alining-rod 3 or the material overhanging the same, the hand may grasp the end 24 of the lever 6, fulcrumed at 7, and the fingers of the same hand can reach into or over the crook 9 and by pulling on the end 24 of the lever 6 the cloth-holder 12 will be caused to swing from the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1 to that denoted by dotted lines in the same figure. The pivoting of the cloth-holder 12 at 10 makes it readily adjustable to different thicknesses of cloth and, also, causes it to hold the cloth more firmly than if its angle were permanent and subject to strain or twisting by prolonged use.

The chalk is so readily removable that a different color can be used if necessary for fabrics of difierent colors. Moreover, while this device is primarily intended to be used with marking chalk, the marker 20 can be allowed to fall into an inoperative position and pins can be used to loop the cloth around the alining-rod 3.

Having thus described this invention, I hereby reserve the benefit of all changes in form, arrangement, order, or use of parts, as it is evident that many minor changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of this invention.

I claim:

1. In a device of the character described, the combination of a base, a vertical member, an alining-rod adapted to be supported by the said vertical member, means for adjustably fastening the said alining-rod to the said vertical member, and a material-holder adapted to be moved into juxtaposition to the said alining-rod.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination of a base, a vertical member, an alining-rod adapted to be supported by the said vertical member, means for adjustably fastening the said alining-rod to the said vertical member, and a pivoted material-holder adapted to be moved into juxtaposition to the said alining-rod.

3. In a device of the character described,

the combination of a base, a vertical member, an alining-rod adapted to be supported by the said vertical member, means for adjustably fastening the said alining-rod to the said vertical member, a material-holder 4' adapted to be moved into juxtaposition to the said alining-rod, and a pivoted lever, the said material-holder being pivoted to the said lever.

4. In a device of the character described, the combination of an alining-rod, a support therefor, a cloth-holder adapted to act in cooperation with the said alining-rod, and a marker borne by the said cloth-holder and adapted for slidable movement in j uXtaposition thereto, the said marker being adapted to hold suitable marking material and having means for holding the same stationary therein, the said means consisting of a movable plate and a set screw to adjust the same.

5. In a device of the character described, an alining-rod, a support therefor, a lever fulcrumed on the said support, and a clothholder pivoted on one end of the said lever and adapted to swing into alinement with the said alining-rod, and the said lever being adapted to be actuated by pressure upon that one of its ends opposite the one to which the cloth-holder is pivoted.

6. In a device of the character described,

the combination of an alining-rod, a support therefor, and a combined materialholder and marker comprising means to press the cloth against, the said alining-rod, a rod held in fixed relation thereto, and a marker slidable upon the said last-mentioned rod and having marking material borne thereby.

7. In a device of the'character described, the combination of an alining-rod, a support therefor, and a combined materialholder and marker comprising means to press the cloth against the said alining-rod, a rod held in fixed relation thereto, and a marker slidable upon the said last-mentioned rod and having marking material borne thereby, the said marker being normally held by a part of the said pressing means in marking position.

8. In a device of the character described, the combination of an aliningrod, a support therefor, and a combined materialholder and marker comprising means to press the cloth against the said alining-rod, a. rod held in fixed relation thereto, and a marker slidable upon the said last-mentioned rod and having marking material borne thereby, the said marker being normally held by a part of the said pressing means in marking position, but being rotatable into non-marking position or a position suitable for refilling With marking material.

9. In a device of the character described, the combination of an alining-rod, a support therefor, means for pressing the cloth into smooth contact With the said aliningrod, the said means being adjustable and having a ruling aperture therethrough, a. marker in juxtaposition to the said aperture and adapted to slide lengthwise in the said aperture and therethrough to mark the cloth, and means in conjunction with the said cloth-holder for supporting the said marker.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

DANIEL SULLIVAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G." 

